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ECR 2019: where 28,000 imaging professionals get up to speed

Home » Imaging » ECR 2019: where 28,000 imaging professionals get up to speed

Future of Imaging February 2019

ECR 2019: where 28,000 imaging professionals get up to speed

Lorenzo E Derchi

ESR President

How do imaging professionals
keep up with the relentlessly expanding boundaries of imaging science? Events
like the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) have the answer.

Two
numbers hold special significance for the European Society of Radiology (ESR)
in early 2019. One we already know: 25. This is the number of ECRs that will
have been held in Vienna by the time ECR 2019 has run its course from February
27 to March 3. The other number we will only find out later, but if the current
trend continues, it ought to be somewhere above 28,474 – the number of
attendees at last year’s ECR.

The
former is a satisfying milestone for the ESR, and one we will celebrate
prominently at this year’s event, but the latter is what counts most for the
future.

Meetings help imaging
professionals keep up with advances

Meetings
like the ECR are as popular as ever and there is no doubt that they play a crucial
role in pushing imaging forward. It can be hard to keep up with advances in the
field, but the ECR gives the whole community an opportunity to take stock of
recent progress; and individuals the chance to dive into any chosen topic.

Building connections across
the spectrum of imaging

Tens
of thousands of healthcare professionals, students, trainees and industry
representatives consider the ECR an unmissable chance to get themselves up to
speed. Not only that, but the connections created by bringing together so many people
spark all kinds of new initiatives, projects and collaborations. We take it as
a great sign for the future of imaging that our community is so keen to be a
part of such educational and scientific professional events.

AI will be a key focus for ECR
2019

So,
what can attendees expect when they arrive at ECR 2019? It should go without
saying that we are fully embracing artificial intelligence this year. The
hottest topic in imaging will be very well represented, with interactive
exhibits, an AI theatre, and no less than 44 scientific sessions dedicated to
the topic.

We
are also hugely excited to be expanding our CUBE programme, which was launched
last year to bring interventional radiology to the fore. It was a great success
at ECR 2018, but we hope the ‘CUBE 2.0’ is going to inspire twice as many
participants this time around.

Naturally,
we have a few special ideas lined up to mark that 25th anniversary
as well, but I do not want to give too much away. Suffice it to say that we
have applied this year’s motto ‘the bigger picture’ in quite a literal sense.

From
1991 to the present day, each ESR and ECR president has passed on the fruits of
their achievements to the next, resulting in the marvellous, trend-setting
congress we know today. They have made the ECR what it is, and that is what we
will be celebrating in Vienna.

Science with style

Every
year, a tremendous amount of work goes into building a programme that meets the
needs of all our attendees, but just as much effort goes into creating an
atmosphere where people feel welcome and comfortable, but also suitably
inspired.

Our
attention to detail, from the overall design to the fun extras (virtual
skydives, table football tournaments, even ice stock lanes) is a key part of
what makes the ECR successful. We are certain this is one reason our onsite
participation keeps growing.

Stream the ECR via our free live
broadcasting

But
we are also building a significant online following, by embracing the potential
of live broadcasting. Anyone interested in the ECR can use our streaming
platform ECR Online free of charge.

You
will miss out on the networking aspect (one of the main benefits of attending),
but you will still get a lot out of it. This is another great example of how
the ESR always tries to do what it can to make knowledge accessible for the
benefit of the specialty. I am sure the ECR will continue to find other new
ways to push the boundaries of what a scientific meeting can be, long into the
future.